Pardew backs Powell to be boss

The 37-year-old former England left back is player-coach under manager Alan Pardew, who believes the game needs more black managers.

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The Charlton boss said: "Black coaches need to be promoted because I don't think the ratio is right and it doesn't reflect well at the moment. I wanted to make a statement. We have a lot of black players at Charlton and it's good for them to see a black coach in and around the first team.

"Chris is more player than coach at the moment — and I'm sure he will expect to start the season in the first team — but his coaching role will progress. He will be a manager one day in his own right and these are his first steps."

Paul Ince at MK Dons is the only black manager out of 92 Premiership and Football League bosses, a statistic which Pardew and Powell agree is embarrassing.

"There's a whole host of reasons why we don't have more black managers and one of the main ones is that there are no role models," said Powell, who signed from Watford on a free transfer.

"As a young footballer, I always had players to look up to and say 'If they can do it, so can I'. But opportunities haven't been there, for whatever reason, to become a manager.

"I could count the number of black managers on one hand and now I feel the time is right for people like Paul Ince and maybe myself to make the difference."

High-profile black players Ian Wright, Mark Bright and Robbie Earle have rejected coaching for careers in the media but Powell said: "They are grown men and they've gone into a field they obviously enjoy but I feel it's a waste. I want to give something back to the game that's given me a career by coaching and being a mentor to younger players.

"It's up to me to become fully qualified and put myself in a position where I can approach my new career in the right manner, when I eventually finish playing. It may encourage other clubs to say 'It doesn't matter if he's black or white. If he's black and qualified, he can coach our team'."